


Monday Night Lights

by kisahawklin



Category: The Losers, The Losers (2010)
Genre: Alternate Reality, American Football, Author's Favorite, Dialogue-Only, Gen, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-05
Updated: 2011-02-05
Packaged: 2017-10-15 10:12:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/159780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kisahawklin/pseuds/kisahawklin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Welcome to Monday Night Football, and the game that's going to determine who gets the top spot in the NFC playoff series."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monday Night Lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [storm_petrel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/storm_petrel/gifts).



> Dear storm_petrel, one of your requests was a well-realized AU, and I've been struggling how to do that for a treat in a way that wouldn't end up being super-long with an epic plot. I hope this works for you.

"Welcome back to the Monday Night Football, and the game that's going to determine who gets the top spot in the NFC playoff series, a dead heat of 10-10 between the Losers and the A-Team. We're minutes away from seeing who is going to get a first week bye and home field advantage for the next several weeks."

"Thanks, Mike. You know, that's two strong teams down there – either of them could give the AFC leader – the heavy superbowl favorite, the Black Hats – a run for their money. Do you have any bets on this game?"

"Not me, Jon. I love both of these teams, so I'm just glad they'll be in the playoffs. The NFC had a strong lineup this year."

"All right, well, let's go down to the field where Suzy has an update on Assistant Coach Fadhil. Suzy?"

"Thanks, Jon. Well, as you know, The Assistant Offense Coach, Fadhil – previously with the Black Hats, if you remember – went down in that huge tackle on the sidelines in the first quarter. When they untangled everyone, he was left on the ground, unconscious. We have his daughter here, Aisha al-Fadhil, and she's got some news. Aisha, how is your father doing?"

"He's going to be okay. He has to stay in the hospital for some more tests, but he sent me to take care of his boys. I've got his game plan, and I intend to do this for my dad."

"Did you hear that, Trent? Aisha's going to be coaching the Losers for the second half of this game."

"I heard, Suzy, that should be something."

"Well, the players are headed back on the field, so up to you guys. Thank you, Aisha."

"Thank you."

"She's been with those guys in practice every day with her dad, but that's not the same as actually coaching. What do you think, Jon?"

"I don’t know… Like you said, coaching isn't just knowing the game plan and the players. She has to manage those men, and let me tell you, that quarterback Clay is not someone it's easy to tell what to do."

"It's true. And the teams are getting back on the field of play, after the two minute warning, The Losers are lining up with a shotgun approach. Jensen is on the move, and there's the snap, Clay fakes and ditches the pocket, looking for an open receiver, and finally throws a short little underhand pass to Porteous, who muscles through the defense for a solid three yards."

"Good defense on the A-Team, Mike, what do you say?"

"Yes, Jon, it's been looking good all game, no fatigue on these guys, even this late in the fourth quarter. The Losers are in no hurry to march the ball down the field, they only need to get close enough for their kicker, Alvarez, to take a shot, and they don't want to leave enough time on the clock for the A-Team to scramble a Hail Mary."

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea. The A-Team's quarterback, Hannibal Smith, is known for their unbelievable last-minute saves. The Losers are no slouch on that front either, though I'm sure neither team is looking to test out the new overtime rules this close to the playoffs."

"Clay is finally lining them up, cutting it short on the play clock. It's second down and seven, and it looks like Clay got the jump on the A-Team, Jensen got away from the A-Team's cornerback and Clay throws a nice clean pass. Jensen is running, he's fast and wily, straight-arming one block there, jumping over another, and finally taken down at the Losers thirty-seven, knocked out of bounds by Baracus."

"You know, I heard these two teams are on generally friendly terms. See, there's Baracus helping Jensen up, giving him a slap on the back."

"That's right, Trent, these two teams both have long histories with the Black Hats, and there's been some bonding over their mutual disgust with some of the aggressive and unnecessarily violent tactics."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being aggressive, Jon, both the Losers and the A-Team have been known to be aggressive on occasion."

"Only in response to –"

"Aaaaand they're lined up, first and ten, two Losers receivers crossing in the backfield, and it's Porteous again, pushing through the defensive line – he's found a hole! He's got a clear field in front of him. He's legging it up the field, but it looks like Baracus is going to save the day for the A-Team again, he's coming up on Porteous fast. He's down on the A-Team forty-nine, a solid fourteen yard run, bringing Porteous up to three hundred and six yards rushing so far this game."

"Another first down, Clay is working some magic out there. If he can get his team to start running down the middle and not getting knocked out of bounds, he should be able to run this down to the wire."

"It looks like the temporary Assistant Offense coach, Aisha al-Fadhil, is trying to call a play – the hand signals going back and forth between her and Clay are epic – oh, and now Roque's in on it, and hey, that's a hand signal even I recognize. Clay's talking him down, though, seeming to go huddle-less and calling the play to his team, getting them on the line of scrimmage in a hurry. The A-Team scrambles to get into position… There's the snap, and Clay hands it off to Porteous again, hoping he can take advantage of the discombobulation on the other team – but no, looks like he got tripped up there, maybe someone got a shoulder down. I think that might even be a loss of a yard or two."

"Looks like the ball is going down right on the fifty yard line, and with the clock counting down, Clay takes his time in the huddle. Alvarez is known for being remarkably accurate with long kicks, but fifty-seven yards is long even for him."

"That's right, Trent, and it looks like Ms. al-Fadhil is trying to get them to run her play again, having an animated hand-waving conversation with Clay – and there goes Roque with his own hand gestures. It looks like it's taking Porteous and Jensen to back him down, and whatever is going on, it better happen fast – the play clock is counting down and the Losers are still sorting themselves out."

"And the Losers finally line up at the line of scrimmage, second down and eleven, Jensen running across the backfield, and zigging right as the ball is snapped and Clay passes it right over. Jensen's still running down the line, looking for an opening, maybe? But no– it's a flea-flicker! Jensen thows the ball back to Clay, and Roque's holding off two defensive linemen, keeping Clay's pocket, but Baracus slips by him and Clay takes off running, he's got some space there, he's going, three yards, five, aaaaaand he goes down to avoid a tackle at the A-Team forty-five."

"Clay's a running quarterback if I ever saw one, Mike, he's got a hell of a lot of rushing yards for a quarterback."

"He does, he's got the third highest rushing yardage on the team. He's watching that clock carefully, judging exactly how much time they're going to need to get Alvarez's kick, and they're lined up at the A-Team's forty-five, third and six, hoping for a few more yards to give Alvarez a nice, easy kick – well, relatively easy, the wind's pretty stiff today – and Clay goes back into the pocket, trusting Roque to keep Baracus at bay. Baracus, who's looking for two more sacks to get the record. He's at twenty-one right now, but it looks like Roque's got Clay's back. It looks like Jensen can't shake off his coverage, though, and Clay ends up throwing it away, stopping the clock and making it fourth down."

"The pass stops the game clock at four seconds, and it looks like Alvarez is in for a fifty-two yard kick; that's a bit long for reliable on most kickers, but Alvarez has only missed two over-fifty kicks in his career."

"That's right, Jon, Alvarez has the best long-distance kicking record in the NFL. While the wind and other factors make it more difficult, there's no one I'd rather have making this kick."

"And rather unusual, the holder being Jensen."

"Yes, it is a little str–"

"Aaaaaaand they're lined up, Jensen holding for Alvarez, Roque on the long snap. There's the snap, right to Jensen's hands, lined up perfectly for Alvarez, who takes the briefest of pauses before going in for the kick, and there it goes – beautifully straight, right through the middle of the uprights, and it's good! 13-10, Losers! And the game's over! That pause of Alvarez's actually ran out the clock – masterful handling of timing by this team, and a win of the coveted home field advantage for the playoffs. Fantastic game on both sides; if they make it through the NFC Championships, hopefully we'll see another one just like it."


End file.
